The infamous Women of Steel sculpture was commissioned to commemorate the women of Sheffield who worked in the city’s steel industry during the First and Second World War.

The statue honours women who as teens and young adults took up dangerous and physical roles in local steelworks to facilitate wartime efforts and keep vital industry running.

The sculpture was commissioned by Sheffield City Council, who raised £150,000 which went towards the sculpture and medallions for the women. The statues were unveiled at an event in June 2016, which saw 100 women who worked in the steelworks in attendance.

500 medallions were made for the women and their families who worked in Sheffield’s steelworks during the world wars.

The bronze sculpture was created by sculptor Martin Jennings.

Gwen Bryan, one of the original women of steel in the Second World War, turned 100 this October.

The day after the Sheffield Blitz on the 15th December 1940, she walked to work in a steel factory, at 17 years old, when she discovered a German fighter pilot had crash landed and later discovered her brother had been killed in action that very same night.

Remembrance day in Sheffield serves not only to commemorate those who fought in the wars but also those who stayed at home and kept the country running.